Friday, November 3, 2017

The country drive last Sunday began "the stir........" Monday after running errands, I stopped by Lincoln Lakes "to stand ...... and be. listen. feel the sharp air on my face. silent, hoping for a response."I began a checklist. Dug out my padded overalls. Would my body still fit in them?? Pulled the heavy backpack with paints and supplies out of storage.Tuesday I checked off the overalls. It was a squeeze with my tummy, but I fit. Went out with the hand saw and for my new past time, hand sawing tree trunks that lie out in the yard. Each in various stages of being cut. It is more of an exercise for me to do, rather than a task to accomplish. An exertion to keep my mind sharp.Wednesday the paint kit was moved into the cab. The easel in the back. For a time to come.Friday the sun remained out long enough for me to"go look. pull out the backpack, set up the easel, hunt and locate the bungee cords. telescope the legs out.stand and observe.locate the graphite.. and sketch."

Orange road cones are stationed around me as I draw from the creek bridge on South Ely Street. Sunshine. Nip in the air. Clear sky. November. And the promise of an overcast afternoon. ... An hour passes. I regard the creek on the west side of the bridge. Another day for that, another time.

Today it goes well. How will my body respond tomorrow? ...to this stretching and lifting, bending and moving, climbing up and down out of the cab. Another check off the list, taking down the easel, carrying supplies back into the cab, lifting, placing. Gathering the cones. Off down the street.

Ely street meets West Lincoln Street and I stop by a green field with trees aflutter and a house nestled beneath its boughs. At last I find a fallen branch and mark the place I want to come back to. No sketch. Jotted thoughts on a paper squatch in my pocket to remember by.

On the shore the easel and drawing pad secured with bungee cord around back. All set.A sullen monument of bleached tree ascends to my right. A far tree bank across the lake. Two houses peeking out from behind way up there. The breeze cold, the sunshine bright, the sky still clear blue. Bright yellow green algae. This place I hope to return to and paint.Less than an hour I am satisfied.

Piling all into the cab. Easel hoisted. Graphite retired. The smudges removed with a clean moist baby wipe towel. I return home. My eyes roam through the passing tree trunks to backyards and houses tucked away in the wood. The spark bursts. Houses tucked away in the wood. A concept to come back to.

Here, I have finished posting the photos and typing the text, and the weather report proves to be true. The clouds have rolled in and the sunshine has left.

Thanks for reading it. It's time for lunch.

North central Missouri, central United States, North America, planet earth.

Monday, September 25, 2017

Remember Me when you do this. A sip of wine and the crunch of bread. These bring to mind the intimate involvement of my living Savior. The One who found me and makes my mind to know his wondrous activity every moment of every day in 2017.

His blood poured out for me from his physical death. His body nailed to wood till he died. His body entombed. His body brought to life to live on and on as all God and all Homo Sapien. He did this for me.

An artist is moved.She is led to nail various sizes of hardware onto a burnt section of wood. Nails indicate where His feet were. Where His hands were. The nails remind her of people both past and present. She thinks about her own resistance. How easy it is to say no to God. This too is part of the story. What Jesus means to her. Why He came.

Other artists do the same -- they listen, they are moved, they plan a design, fingers and eyes move with precision. This kind of art draws minds to the Lord. Stopping to think about Jesus can be called prayer. It is worship. It is liturgical. We stop and think about what He is drawing us into. While I walk, while I sit, under a tree, in a yard, in a car, in a church, by myself, or with others. The One I love.

His ability to change hearts and minds. His ability to cancel debts. His ability to show mercy to me. His strength and kindness and intelligence. Instructions for amino acids to fold over in a specific sequence for each specific protein within every living cell. That I can know HIM. That is awesome!

wood - glass - formica - elmer's glue - joy - design - celebrateThe space for such creating once took place in the basement of Brommer Hall. It continues on in the basement of Jesse Hall.

With funds from a donor the Center for Liturgical Arts now has its own new building at 540 North Columbia Avenue in Seward. Ground broke just four months ago. Already a building. What a wonder.

Three minutes. Concordia University president Brian Friedrich.

Actually the original vision happened about right here. Today, you long term Seward residents know: the house was green, almost the shade now covering the outside walls of the Center. In here lived for many years, Dorris and Reinhold Marxhausen and their children Karl and Paul. Brian Friedrich

What the Greeks said to the disciple Phillip: "Sir, we want to see Jesus." John 12:21

Those two families, the Lange - Marxhausen family, started this marvelous idea of the Center. Now ideas take a while to start and to flourish. And that's what happened. It took years and we don't know exactly when things happened but the Spirit moves. You know the Spirit loves creation. It moved at Creation, and was in Creation, and I believe the Spirit moves over the Center. So, when I think about that moment, when these two men out on that deck were talking about THIS, they didn't know we would be in a building. They didn't know how we would reach across the ocean. They didn't know what God had planned for THIS, but they were MOVED BY THE SPIRIT. And the Spirit also led me here. Mark Anschutz

Mark Anschutz oversaw the new property to keep portions of the Marxhausen inspired landscape. Such as the path to the Reinhold and Dorris Marxhausen studio. He matched the exterior color to the green that was on the Marxhausen front porch. Various trees started by Dorris Marxhausen continue to flourish, a couple a persimmon trees, and a marvelous giant ponderosa pine along the Lincoln Street side.

Thank you Mark for your love and dedication. He preserved and showcased the original front door, next. Which my father glued piece by piece, then burned portions with a torch, then wire-brushed, and at the end waxed down. It has a loud metal doorbell which rings loud when you pull the porcelain knob.

Six minutes. Harvey and Carol Lange

A six year program with funding for each of those years. Sufficient to hire a part-time worker who would design a proposal for congregations to enhance their sanctuary for Christmas or for Easter. And this person would take this design to teacher conferences or pastor conferences. And would also talk about the potential for liturgical art --- The first hired person was Mark Anschutz. Here we are fifteen years later. Would you believe that this proposal would lead to fabricating a 72 pane glass stained glass wall. 20 feet tall and 80 feet across. And all those pieces of glass fabricated here in Seward. And then packed and shipped to Hong Kong, where they are put in place. Harvey Lange

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grid shows the order that constrains sand amoebas

"THAT PAINTING BRINGS YOU JOY SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU, AND I WOULD FOCUS ON THAT INSTEAD." DR.TANYA W. LAND, nurse practicianer specialist in Carrollton, MO

Cutting Block (Winter Scene)

"HELLO KARL. AS A FRIEND OF CHARLES AND ANITRA STEELE,I HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO YOU AND YOUR WORKAND AM ALWAYS INTERESTED IN READING YOUR WRITINGS AND ABOUT YOUR ACTIVITIES.I ESPECIALLY ADMIRE YOUR PERSISTENCE IN "BEING A TRUE ARTIST" IN SMALL CARROLLTON.I'M SURE IT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU PERSONALLY NEED TO DO AND IN WAYS THAT YOU WILL PERHAPS NEVER KNOW ARE AFFECTING MANY IN A POSITIVE WAY.CONTINUE TO HEAL!!"Patt Behler, Jefferson City, MO

sand, packaging, and acrylic paint is seen in this detail of "A Thinking Reed's Response"

"ABOUT YOUR DAD: THE BLESSING THAT CAME INTO HIS LIFE WAS CONCORDIA. THIS SETTING HELPED HIM BECOME THE PERSON HE "BECAME." AND BY SETTING I MEAN THE COLLEGE AND THE CITY OF SEWARD. NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. IT WAS THE PERFECT SPOT FOR HIM." JACK DUENSING, SEWARD, NE.

mixed materials used in "Wired To Hear Your Voice" by Karl Marxhausen, 2002

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owner of "Sundown" from Seward, NE

Welcome. Art is alive in the middle of North America. Ten miles north of the Missouri River, down the road from Moss Creek, I work with a variety of materials. This journal tells you what I am up to with PAINT, COLLAGE, RELIEF PRINTS, MARKERS, and MUSIC. Your comments are welcomed from around the globe. Posts go up every two weeks. Come back often.

plein air acrylic

"SOUNDS LIKE GOD HAS BLESSED YOU WITH YOUR ART. YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION TO MANY!!"sandy quick, kansas city, mo

"HOW COOL IS THAT KARL!! CONGRATULATIONS AND KEEP AT IT - YOU ARE DOING WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WORK."richard hamilton, kansas city, mo

grappling with the neurons in consciousness

"I ADMIRE THE WAY YOU MAKE THE SCENE YOUR OWN. YOU USE ACRYLICS IN A NICE, FLEXIBLE WAY WHICH IS SO DIFFICULT."sheila vaughan, painter, united kingdom

"MAY THE LORD CONTINUE TO INSPIRE YOU!!"adebanji alade,artist, united kingdom

"KARL PAINTS WITH STRONG STROKES - SOMETIMES ALMOST SLASHES. HE SAYS IT ALL, FEARLESSLY, IN A FEW WELL CHOSEN WORDS FROM HIS PALETTE. HIS SUBJECTS ARE SIMPLE EVERYDAY THINGS THAT HOLD THE GREAT PLEASURES." phil chadwick, painter, ontario